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In the Miso Soup
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The Dukays (Prion Lost Treasures)
The Dylan Thomas Murders
Adept
Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (Mammoth)
The Missing Head of Damasceno Monteiro
Innocence (Panther S.)
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The Rising of the Moon (Virago Modern Classics)
The Hard Shoulder
Mystery of the Yellow Room (Dedalus European Classics S.)
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Dedalus European Classics S.)
No Beast So Fierce
The Animal Factory
Charles Willeford Omnibus: "Pick Up", "Burnt Orange Heresy", "Cockfighter"
Two for Tanner
Severed: The True Story of the "Black Dahlia" Murder
The Bar Watcher
No Escape
Southland
The Hackman Blues (Bloodlines S.)
Fresh Blood: No. 3 (Bloodlines S.)
Oh No, Not My Baby (Bloodlines S.)
The Writing on the Wall (Eurocrime)

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DELiCiOUSLY DARK!
A Walk On The Wild Side
"Cutting" social commentary
Best novel I've read so far this year.
The Ugly American (Psycho?)

In the Miso Soup
Ryu Murakami
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 014303569X

Book Description

From postmodern Renaissance man Ryu Murakami, master of the psychothriller and director of Tokyo Decadence, comes this hair-raising roller-coaster ride through the nefarious neon-lit world of Tokyo's sex industry. In the Miso Soup tells of Frank, an overweight American tourist who has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo's sleazy nightlife. But Frank's behavior is so strange that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion—that his new client is in fact the serial killer currently terrorizing the city. It is not until later, however, that Kenji learns exactly how much he has to fear and how irrevocably his encounter with this great white whale of an American will change his life.

Customer Reviews:

DELiCiOUSLY DARK!.......2007-06-28

I bought this book when I was 14 because it sounded like an interesting read. I couldn't put this book down. it is surreal, gritty and chilling! In one scene in the book I had to skip over it because it was too graphic, but other than that you will find yourself reacting as if you're watching a drama cop show on TV. Also a very interesting and rarely exposed version of a different culture.

I would say you should definitely read this book, it's one of my favorites.

A Walk On The Wild Side.......2007-01-24

"In the Miso Soup" is my own first try of "the other Murakami", who is also famous for his work. I have to say that "In the Miso Soup" was a pleasant, fast paced read and one that had a lot to say.

The main characters are Kenji, a nightlife tour guide in Tokyo's seedy sex-spots such as Kabuki-cho, and Frank, a modestly dressed American tourist that sets off Kenji's alarms. Set over a 3 day period, the story follows Kenji's decent into Frank's world of violence.

Written in the first person, the book is flooded with Kenji's observations about Japan's culture, society and what he sees as the blatant woes of it all. Kenji is not one to mince words, and deals out a fair amount of criticism on everything from materialism to "compensated- dating". The wry observations often have their catalyst in Frank, or his activities. The observations and even Frank's monologues are quite insightful at times, and give one plenty of food for thought. However, Kenji offers no real solutions to the woes he observes.

While there is no mystery regarding who the killer is, there is some mystery as to what the ending will be and how Kenji and Frank will resolve things, if they do. This sense of unknown was what kept me hooked to the very end.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ryu Murakami's journey into the dark side of life, and I was not easily able to put it down to sleep. For those craving something a little different, this is nice book. And at only a couple of hundred pages, it won't consume so much time. I, for one, will be hunting for more of this Murakami.

"Cutting" social commentary.......2006-09-01

With all of the sex and violence in In the Miso Soup, it would be easy to miss or dismiss Murakami's central purpose in writing this book - to highlight the severe problems and harshly criticize modern Japanese society. America lies within Murakami's cross-hairs as well, but Frank's function is as much to personify America's problems as it is to serve as the "outsider's eye" on Japan's issues.

Much like Coin Locker Babies, In the Miso Soup builds up to a single act of violence, and allows the reader to draw his conclusions from the aftermath. Like most other Murakami stories, violence is both destructive and cathartic, and it is in the scene at the club that the reader fully comprehends Murakami's message. Japan, like Kenji, is empty, lost, materialistic, detached, and passively voyeuristic. America, like Frank, is brutal, naive, judgmental, and schizophrenic. Both have a mutual attraction toward the other as Kenji has always wanted to go to America, and Frank is happy to finally be "in the miso soup". Both have a mutual distaste and distrust for the other as well. There is a fundamental gap between the two as well, one that surpasses language and culture, rooted perhaps in the fact that both cultures are both paradoxically fearful and ambivalent toward strangers and outsiders. It is only after the act of violence that both achieve a kind of understanding and peace, and seek the ideal that is represented by the New Year's bells.

In the Miso Soup is full of the annoying blanket statements and conclusions along the lines of "We Japanese are like this" "You foreigners/Americans are like this" that will probably vex most readers (and especially those of us who lived in Japan and confronted these superficial stereotypes daily) but the points Murakami makes are well taken. Agree with them or not, Murakami has created a chilling parable where he lays bare his thoughts on the pressing social problems of Japan and the US. Whether one looks upon Frank as a mere "virus" or an agent of change also depends on the reader's viewpoint. The scenes of violence will offend many (if not most) readers, but it is my hope that people can and will read past the violence and sex to see the social commentary that lies at the core of Murakami's story.

Frank asks Kenji, "Did that scare you?" but the question stands for the reader as well. If your answer is yes, then Murakami's mission has been accomplished.

Best novel I've read so far this year........2006-06-07

Ryu Murakami, In the Miso Soup (Kodansha International, 1997)

Though it's been a few years since I regularly smoked cigars, I sometimes find myself wanting to compare a particularly fine novel to a certain type of cigar. Not that anyone but an aficionado would know what I was getting at without an explanation anyway, but I just can't resist the urge sometimes. And In the Miso Soup is a perfect analogue to a Davodiff Double R; ease of ignition, smooth draw, slow, even burn, and above all, an excellent finish, the thing for which Davidoff cigars are noted. There are a whole lot of people who can write very good books. But those books just kind of end, a lot of the time. I've begun to think, in the past few years, that what separates a good writer (let's take Koji Suzuki as an example) from a great writer (such as Murakami) is the finish. Suzuki is more a Montecristo or a Moore and Bode-- a good, solid workingman's cigar, the kind of thing you smoke after a meatloaf dinner, beer in hand, watching NASCAR. Murakami demands sixteen-year-old scotch, steak so rare it could heal on its own if left to its own devices, and, well, championship table tennis or something.

Kenji is a young, enterprising Japanese guy who's gone into business for himself. He acts as a tourguide for foreigners who want a quick trip through Tokyo's sex industry. It's two days before New Years', and things are a little dead, but an eager American named Frank has hired Kenji for three days. There's something not quite right about Frank, and Kenji starts to wonder if he's not the serial killer presently at work in the area.

While on its surface In the Miso Soup is a thriller, it's a low-key one, keeping with Murakami's seeming tradition of writing in a completely new genre for each book he produces; this reads almost like a sociopolitical critique of the Japanese sex industry with a thriller sitting overtop it. What is most surprising about this is that Murakami actually manages to make this sort of thing work; the "message" novel, by default, is trite, boring, and not at all satisfying or readable. In the Miso Soup is none of those things, because Murakami has gifted it with strong characters, a story that is usually compelling (though it does sometimes waver, as if Murakami were not quite sure where he wanted to go with it), and above all his inimitable style-- the reason one can read this and the light compedy 69 and realize they're by the same guy, and the reason that one cannot help but be slightly shocked at the book's final sentence, and yet completely satisfied with the journey.

A pretty solid choice for this year's ten-best list. **** ½

The Ugly American (Psycho?).......2006-05-26

A note to the careless: there are two famous Japanese novelists with the last name Murakami. Both are acclaimed at home, but Haruki is the better known of the two in translation and is beloved for his quirky use of the tools of magical realism. This book is by Ryu, the "other" Murakami, and his books are an altogether different proposition. Written in 1997, this is only the fourth of his ten novels to be translated into English (after Almost Transparent Blue, Coin Locker Babies, and 69), but the themes of alienation and ultraviolence are right in keeping with his oeuvre, which includes the script for the highly overrated shock sexploitation film "Tokyo Decadence" and the novel which was the basis for the even worse film "Audition." Although there's little sex to speak of in this book, be forewarned that there is some very graphic violence that may well upset the faint-hearted.

The plot is relatively straightforward: 20-year-old Kenji works as a guide for Western tourists looking for action in Tokyo's sex districts. A few days before the end of the year, he meets up with a new American client named Frank. Right off the bat there is the sense that something is not right with Frank, and within the first ten pages Kenji irrationally suspects that Frank may have been responsible for the brutal dismembering of a teenager that's been in the news. The rest of the book vividly chronicles their journey through the grim nightlife as Frank drags Kenji around seedy bars, ostensibly in search of sex, but seemingly more in search of companionship. All the while, Kenji nurses growing suspicions that Frank may actually be a psychopath, until 2/3 of the way through there is a major incident which seems to confirm his worst fears.

I say "seems" because there are a number of ways one might interpret this incident and the entire story. Certainly, at the core, as in Murakami's other work, there is a heavy dose of social commentary regarding the prevalence of alienation in modern Japanese society and a critique of materialism. There are repeated references to the "compensated dating" phenomenon among teenage girls, as well as the varying shades of amateur prostitutes, and ruminations as to what kind of society leads to people seeking such desperate connections. In a sense, this is very reminiscent of the themes of Bret Easton Ellis' "American Psycho." And like that book, one has to wonder about the reliability of the narrator, and ultimately question just to what extent the atrocities that are detailed actually occurred. One could make a case that "Frank" does not actually exist, and that Kenji is losing his marbles. On the other hand, one could take all the events at their face value and come up with a reading of the book in which the two protagonists are stand-ins for their countries and their relationship is a mirror of the U.S.-Japanese relationship (the American is rich and randomly violent, while the naive Japanese shadows him, bewildered and passive, wishing to intervene but never daring to). Either of these is more interesting than taking it all at face value, since despite the cover blurb, this isn't really a thriller.

The first 2/3 of the book do manage to provoke a fair amount of tension and anxiety as the reader wonders with Kenji about Frank's true nature. However, this is eventually subsumed by an annoyance with Kenji for being so passive and getting swept along so easily in whatever scheme Frank has planned. After the major incident, the book kind of meanders to an inconclusive ending. Murakami does a great job of painting a vivid picture and creating an oppressive mood, but it ends up feeling like all style and very little substance. This may actually be a case where the movie will end up being better than the book.

Japanese Homestyle Dishes: Your Complete Guide to Preparing Light and Flavorful Japanese Meals at Home, Contains All the Classic Japanese Recipes, from Miso Soup and Sushi to sa (Learn to Cook)

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Japanese Homestyle Dishes: Your Complete Guide to Preparing Light and Flavorful Japanese Meals at Home, Contains All the Classic Japanese Recipes, from Miso Soup and Sushi to sa (Learn to Cook)
Susie Donald
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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The Book of Miso Soup (Quick & Easy Series)

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The Book of Miso Soup (Quick & Easy Series)
Joie
Manufacturer: Milestone Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 4915831930

Book Description

Of all the cuisines of Japan, miso-based soup may be the easiest and the most versatile dish to cook at home. Miso soup used to be , and still is, essential not only for the Japanese table, but also for people's health. This cookbook contains 110 trouble free recipes with full color photographs for each one. This book has 9 chapters classified by combination of ingredients. There is one chapter that is devoted to the techniques and terminology of the soup.

50 Classic Japanese Recipes: From sushi to noodles, from miso soup to tempura--authentic dishes explained step-by-step with 250 color photographs

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50 Classic Japanese Recipes: From sushi to noodles, from miso soup to tempura--authentic dishes explained step-by-step with 250 color photographs
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Manufacturer: Southwater
ProductGroup: Book
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This inspiring and evocative volume is a fascinating introduction to the art of Japanese cuisine for the Western cook that will delight the eye as well as exciting the palate.

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Easy Sushi Rolls and Miso Soups
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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1841725773

Ryu Murakami. In the Miso Soup.(Book Review): An article from: World Literature Today

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Ryu Murakami. In the Miso Soup.(Book Review): An article from: World Literature Today
Yoshiko Yokochi Samuel
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 529 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ryu Murakami. In the Miso Soup.(Book Review)
Author: Yoshiko Yokochi Samuel
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 78 Issue: 3-4 Page: 88(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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In The Miso Soup
Ryu Murakami
Manufacturer: BLOOMSBURY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GP4KWS

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Miso soup
Ry Murakami
Manufacturer: Philippe Picquier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 2877306380

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In the Miso Soup
Ryu Murakami
Manufacturer: BLOOMSBURY
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